85 years before Aizen was sealed away in the original timeline, Amagai Shūsuke volunteered for the Captain's test and passed it successfully, becoming the Captain of the Third Division.
Since Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi went missing after his Hollowfication, Vice-Captain Chitetsu Iba has carried the Third Division for over a decade. Now, with a new Captain taking office, she has chosen to hand over her Zanpakuto and retire, allowing her son, Tetsuzaemon Iba, to continue serving in the Gotei 13.
As a result, Kifune Ri, who followed Amagai, became the Vice-Captain, which made him ecstatic... But under Amagai's orders, he outwardly pretended to be approachable and mingled with the Squad Members.
The slight changes in the Seireitei were also monitored and reported by Hueco Mundo, but Zero paid no attention to them.
At this point, all of his Espada had been Arrancar. The newly arrived Shark Girl Tier Harribel, was ranked eighth, while Luppi tenth, was kicked out of the Espada sequence.
Nnoitra, who was demoted one rank, was very dissatisfied and challenged Nel or Tier Harribel every day, but unfortunately, he was always beaten to a pulp.
As Adjuchas- class Arrancar, he was far inferior to Vasto Lorde-class Arrancar. Even without either of them having their Shikai, he was still unilaterally and brutally beaten.
Nnoitra only challenged two female Espada because, in his view, women should not be of a higher status than men on the battlefield... therefore, he deserved to be beaten.
Dordoni is also challenged by Luppi every day, simply because he became the last Espada, and Luppi unwilling to lose her place in the order.
Zero didn't stop their duel, remaining complacent and not fighting. Even a tiger with sharp claws will turn into a sick cat.
After his subordinates finished using the Hōgyoku, it was Zero's turn to use it... At the top of the Sky Cover, there was a castle, shaped like a Western-style crown, which was Zero's place of seclusion.
Zero doesn't need bandages. Those bandages are for Menos Grande to condense their Zanpakuto when they transform into Soul Reaper. The bandages absorb the Menos Grande's original forms and transform into Reiryoku to condense into Zanpakuto.
Zero initially attempted to activate the Hōgyoku using Reiatsu, but failed. Aizen's records indicate that he could still slightly activate the Hōgyoku, while Zero could not. Therefore, he has always used the simplest method to activate the Hōgyoku.
Those who need to evolve into Hōgyoku will be isolated in a certain place with the Hōgyoku. Once awakened, the Hōgyoku can only learn about one person's thoughts, and therefore can only help that person complete their task.
In the secluded castle, only Ulquiorra brought Zero food regularly; otherwise, no one could see him. His thought, which he revealed to the Hōgyoku at this time, was: to cultivate a stronger Bankai...
In Zero's Inner World, in his Zan Zen state, he is currently engaged in a fierce battle with Blood Drink, while Yanis has already transformed into half of Blood Drink's body.
Bankai can become stronger with training. He had already grasped a part of it during his last seclusion. He was able to maintain Bankai while his right hand was fused with his Zanpakuto, resulting in a qualitative increase in power.
However, Zero knew that this alone was not enough to defeat Yama-jii. Yama-jii's "Zanka no Tachi" was the ceiling of attack power, capable of vaporizing everything, not to mention its full range.
Based on Zero's current Bankai, even if he can exchange a few more blows with Yama-jii, he will probably still lose in the long run.
Zero had prepared several Captain-level wounded soldiers in advance, and forcibly pulled their wounds to draw blood before they were healed, which is why he wasn't killed with a single blow.
If Zero still can't beat Yama-jii next time he encounters him, he'll probably be in big trouble, since the characteristics of his Bankai couldn't possibly have gone unanalyzed.
If Zero were to fight Yama-jii again, the Seireitei would only need to make slight preparations and use the Senkaimon to transfer the wounded away when Zero uses his Bankai. Then what would he have left to heal himself? He would probably die a terrible death at that point.
That's why he desperately wanted to Bankai, to the point where he could disregard death...
Each of the Zanpakuto crafted by Ōetsu Nimaiya possesses infinite potential, depending on how the user modifies them using their own soul power.
For example, Zero and Blood Drink. Zero has already become stronger, and Blood Drink cannot remain unchanged forever. Zero has been asking in his Inner World how to develop a new Bankai form.
The combined form of Blood Drink and Yanis has a strange appearance. It still has Zero's face, but it also features the black mask that Zero wore when he was in Hollowfication.
In Zero's Inner World, the intense stench of blood manifests as Hongyun, red mist, and red rivers; every blade of grass and every tree in this world is red.
Finally Blood Drink, became serious. "Since you're so eager for new power, let's make this clear: you might die during the cultivation of this new form."
"You always say that. When have I ever died?"
Zero wore a relaxed smile. Even though his Inner World consciousness was riddled with wounds, he still didn't believe he would die.
"This time is different. You weren't killed, you choked to death... Watch closely, the true Bankai..."
Blood Drink was extremely serious. With a low growl, he began to absorb the blood mist in Zero 'Inner World, and then completed his Bankai.
A transformation-like Bankai, with dark red armor and an iron crown making his head resemble horns, armor appearing on various parts of his body connected to his flesh, and red wings on his back...
It looked exactly the same as before, except that there were seven red lotus flowers above the back of its head, which were slowly floating up and down.
Blood and energy grow and wither like flower petals, and just when they seem about to completely wither and dissipate, they are able to hold on; just like the cycle of a flower, they grow and wither continuously.
"That was a beautiful Bankai!"
Zero praised his own Bankai, and he too began to Bankai, attempting to mimic Blood Drink's current posture... but he failed.
In order to allow him to more accurately experience this new Bankai, Blood Drink continuously fought against Zero. At first, Zero felt that there was no difference in the current 'Blood Blade: Peerless'.
But when he defeated Blood Drink and pierced Blood Drink heart with his sword, everything changed.
At Las Noches, Nnoitra, defeated once again by Nel, returned to his residence, munching on Menos Grande mask brought to him by his subordinates while cursing and swearing.
Arrancars can also gain a little bit of Reiatsu growth by eating, but it's not as obvious as it was when they were Hollows. Compared to their own Reiatsu, this growth is really insignificant.
Grimmjow's training method is similar to Nnoitra's, except that his opponent is Picaro, and his food... is Half-Arrancar who failed to evolve in order to gain power, resulting in the loss of his intelligence.
By the time the Half-Arrancar were all consumed, Grimmjow and his Fracción had significantly increased their strength.
Picaro himself has come to view fighting as a fun game, where the loser dies, and he has always been able to win this game. He accepted Grimmjow's challenge because he wanted to punish the guy.
Picaro's method of gaining strength through food is the same: when he feels hungry, he enters the Menos Grande Forest, unleashes his strange sword, and allows his kind, fused within him, to enclose a piece of land, draining its Reishi and void...
Currently, the most warlike members of the Espada are the fifth, sixth, and ninth, and compared to the other Espada, their progress is also the fastest.
Among the top Espada, Baraggan has been researching how to make his Death Breath immune to spatial abilities, as he still harbors resentment over his defeat to the three Quincy last time.
Spatial abilities have always been Baraggan's nemesis. From the former Yaxiao to that Quincy who could distort space, each one has infuriated Baraggan, and his authority as the Great Emperor has plummeted to rock bottom.
He then thought of a method: using that thing called 'Hōgyoku' to awaken a certain spatial control ability in himself, he only needed to suppress the space around him and make it stable.
However, as a former enemy, Baraggan really didn't want to speak first, as it would only intensify his sense of humiliation... The hatred he felt for Aizen in the original timeline was immense, and now his hatred for Zero could only be even greater...
The news that the Arrancar Army could grant Menos Grande even greater power had already spread to 80% of Hueco Mundo. Mid-level Menos Grande arrived for various reasons, and more than 3,000 Adjuchas gathered in Las Noches.
Some of them were seeking refuge because their power was about to decline, while others were too weak in combat. Their goal in unifying was to gain power.
Because there wasn't enough room for too many Adjuchas here, Ulquiorra began assigning some of the more capable individuals to manage the Menos Grande Forest and forbade them from fighting privately outside; any fighting was to take place in the Arena within Las Noches.
"Lord Ulquiorra, I'd like to ask, when will we be able to become Arrancar?"
"Me too, I'm almost regressing."
"Where is Lord Nangong? We wish to pay our respects to him."
Dozens of newly arrived Adjuchas banded together and headed to Ulquiorra's palace, where they clamored for Ulquiorra to allow them to become Arrancars.
Most of the Reiryoku potions that can Half-Arrancarization are used by Zero to feed the Hōgyoku, simply because this can shorten the Hōgyoku's dormancy period. A portion is used for research, and there are currently no Reiryoku potions that can Arrancar Menos Grande.
"I've told you several times already, Lord Nangong is currently cultivating. Someone will come to inform you when the time comes. If you disturb me again, you can just disappear!"
Ulquiorra indifferently threatened a group of Adjuchas. He hadn't wanted to pay them any attention, but this wasn't the first time. He was getting annoyed to death. If this were any other Espada palace, these guys would have been dead long ago.
These Menos Grande understood this principle, which is why they pleaded with Ulquiorra, the Grand Steward. He was also the most agreeable of the Espada; as long as they didn't act too recklessly, Ulquiorra wouldn't kill them.
This time, however, Ulquiorra was clearly annoyed, and the Adjuchas turned away dejectedly.
At that moment, the gravitational field seemed to multiply several times, causing the Espada, whose strength had reached a certain level, to freeze, completely immobilized, including Ulquiorra...
'What's going on? Is that Lord Nangong's Reiatsu coming down from the Sky Cover Nangong? But why are these Adjuchas completely unaware?'
Ulquiorra's usually expressionless face was now filled with astonishment. He couldn't understand why the Adjuchas seemed completely oblivious to the commotion and simply walked out of his palace.
Starrk, who was sleeping, was also awakened. The Reiatsu was so strong that even he couldn't understand it. It was transmitted through the Sky Cover and the Barrier card.
Without the Sky Cover and Barrier, the Adjuchas army within Las Noches would face this unseen Reiatsu, causing their souls to be rapidly worn down and they to die.
On the Sky Cover, Zero stared at the Hōgyoku in his hand, then put away his new Bankai, and the Reiatsu that had made the Espada below tremble also disappeared.
As for whether the Hōgyoku helped to complete this Bankai, Zero couldn't say for sure...